Roof insulation material for vehicles and production method

ABSTRACT

A roof insulation material used in convertible vehicles with soft top (fabric base, flexible) structure, the roof insulation material including: a bottom layer whose top surface is formed of woven felt coated with foil or thermoplastic polyurethane; a top layer which is formed of woven felt, and which is located on the bottom layer and is connected to the bottom layer; and polyurethane foam which corresponds to the profiles forming the roof structure when the roof structure is opened or closed, when located on the roof of the vehicle along with its side parts and which is located between the bottom layer and the top layer, except for the parts that contact said profiles.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention is related to the roof structure of the vehicles withconvertible roof system in the automotive sector. The inventionspecifically relates to the roof insulation material which is used inthe roof part of the convertible vehicles with soft top (fabric base,flexible) structure, and which is made of Polyurethane foam locatedbetween two felt layers, and to the production method of this material.

PRIOR ART

Today, hard top (metal base rigid) or soft top (fabric base, flexible)structures are used in convertible vehicles. In the soft top (fabricbase, flexible) structures, the roof insulation material is made of ablock foam located between two woven felt layers. The block foam whichis located between two woven felt layers, is formed with form mold.Afterwards, the woven felts are welded to each other by applying heat.The obtained insulation material is cut in accordance with the roof formwhom it will be used for.

Sound and heat insulations inside the vehicle, are important for thevehicles with soft top (fabric base, flexible) structures. Therefore,block foam is used in the prior art. However, the block foam performsunder the desired cab internal sound performance level. Also, since theroof systems are opened and closed by folding in said vehicles, aneasily shaped and detailed insulation material shall be used. In priorart, due to block foam being used as roof insulation material; detailedforms may not be created and empty space sections may not be obtained.This situation causes bad exterior appearances for the roof ofconvertible vehicles. In the prior art, due to using foam structure inthe whole fabric, areas on the spina of the convertible roof system, andfoam parts which is not dischargeable during production, affect thefolding performance of the roof system negatively and also cause extrabumpy appearance from the external view. Because the block foam wouldnot be formed in the desired size, it may not provide enough empty spacefor the laths located horizontally and form the metal structure of theconvertible roof system, and it applies pressure upon these lathsoccurs. Therefore, the folding feature of the roof system and theexternal look of the roof are affected negatively. In addition, blockfoam has low density and may not form a skin in the area it is located.

As a result, due to the inconveniencies mentioned above, and theinsufficiency of the existing solutions regarding the issue, animprovement in the technical field is needed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a roof insulation material whichfulfills the requirements mentioned above, which eliminates all thedisadvantages and provides some additional advantages, and to itsproduction method.

The primary goal of the invention is to prevent the external appearanceof the roof structure to be negatively affected due to the insulationmaterial in the convertible vehicles with soft top (fabric base,flexible) structure.

The invention aims to develop a roof insulation material which may beformed easily in the desired manner, to be used in the convertiblevehicles with soft top (fabric base, flexible) structure.

An aim of the invention is to provide internal cabin sound insulation inthe convertible vehicles with soft top (fabric base, flexible)structure.

The invention also aims to prevent the factors causing problems in theopening and closing movement of the roof in the convertible vehicleswith soft top (fabric base, flexible) structure.

Another aim of the invention is to enable obtaining empty space areaswith the form of dent, enabling the horizontally positioned lathsforming the roof metal structure to be located, in the roof insulationmaterial.

The invention aims to develop a roof insulation material which may beeasily formed in the desired manner with polyurethane (PU) injectionmethod and Pu mold, not composite (PU non-inclusive of glass or fibersetc.), to be used in convertible vehicles with soft top (fabric base,flexible) structure.

In order to obtain the goals mentioned above, the invention is a roofinsulation material used in convertible vehicles with soft top (fabricbase, flexible) structure and said roof insulation material comprises;

-   -   a bottom layer which is made of woven felt whose top surface is        covered with foil or thermoplastic Polyurethane,    -   a top layer which is made of woven felt and is located on and        connected to the bottom layer,    -   a polyurethane foam which is located between the bottom and the        top layers, except the side parts and the sections which        correspond to the profiles forming the roof metal structure and        the sections that are in contact with these profiles, when        located on the vehicle roof, while the roof structure is closed

In order to achieve the aims described above, the production method ofthe roof insulation material comprises the following steps;

-   -   Injecting polyurethane foam to the top surface which is foil or        thermoplastic polyurethane coated, of the bottom layer which is        made of woven felt,    -   locating the form mold onto the bottom layer, when the side        parts of the roof insulation material and the roof insulation        material are located on the roof of the vehicle and when the        roof structure is opened or closed, except for the sections        which correspond to the profiles forming the roof metal        structure and the sections that are in contact with these        profiles, in order to enable the polyurethane foam to be        transmitted to the desired sections on the bottom layer,    -   after the form mold is removed, locating the top layer onto the        bottom layer where the polyurethane foam is injected and        connecting the bottom layer and the top layer via heat,    -   performing cutting in accordance with the internal form of the        roof.

In order to achieve the goals of the invention, form mold comprisesprotrusions preventing the location of the polyurethane foam on the sideparts of the roof insulation material and the profiles forming the roofmetal structure and sections which correspond to these profiles when theroof insulation material is located on the vehicle roof and the roofstructure is closed.

The structural and characteristical features of the invention along withall its advantages shall be understood more clearly with the figuresprovided below and the detailed description that refers to thesefigures. Therefore, an evaluation shall be made by taking these figuresand the detailed description into account.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: It is the sectional view showing the internal structure of theroof insulation material of the invention.

FIG. 2: It is the general view of the roof insulation material of theinvention in a manner that it is cut according to the internal form ofthe roof.

FIG. 3: It is the general view of the form mold which is used to obtainthe roof insulation material of the invention.

It is not necessary that the figures are scaled and the details that arenot required in order to understand the present invention may beignored. In addition to that, elements which are majorly identical orwhich have majorly identical functions are shown with the same number.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PART REFERENCES

-   1. Roof insulation material-   5. Bottom layer-   6. Foil or thermoplastic Polyurethane-   7. Top surface-   10. Top layer-   15. Polyurethane foam-   30. Form mold-   35. Protrusion-   40. Side-   50. Section without Polyurethane foam

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed description a roof insulation material (1) subject ofthe invention, for the convertible vehicles, and its production methodare described while not limiting in any manner, in order for the issueto be better understood.

The invention relates to the roof insulation material (1) which is usedin convertible vehicles with soft top (fabric base, flexible) structure.In FIG. 1 a sectional view showing the internal structure of the roofinsulation material (1) subject of the invention, is provided. Said roofinsulation material (1), generally comprises respectively,

-   -   a bottom layer (5) which is made of woven felt, whose top        surface (7) is coated with foil or thermoplastic polyurethane        (6),    -   a top layer (10) which is made of woven felt, and is located on        and is connected to the Bottom layer (5),    -   a polyurethane foam (15) which is located between the bottom        layer (5) and the top layer (10), except the side (40) parts and        the sections which correspond to the profiles forming the roof        metal structure and the sections that are in contact with these        profiles, when located on the vehicle roof, when the roof        structure is closed.

The production method of the roof insulation material (1) subject ofsaid invention, which is mentioned above, generally comprises the stepsof;

-   -   injecting polyurethane foam (15) to the top surface (7) which        may be foil or thermoplastic Polyurethane (6) coated, of the        bottom layer (5) which is made of woven felt,    -   locating the form mold (30) on the bottom layer (5) when the        side (40) parts of the roof insulation material (1) and the roof        insulation material (1) are located on the roof of the vehicle,        and when the roof structure is opened or closed, except for the        sections which correspond to the profiles forming the roof metal        structure, and the sections that are in contact with these        profiles, in order to enable the polyurethane foam (15) to be        transmitted to the desired sections on the bottom layer (5),    -   after the form mold (30) is removed locating the top layer (10)        on the bottom layer (5) where polyurethane foam (15) is injected        and connecting the bottom layer (5) and the top layer (10) via        heat,    -   Performing cutting in accordance with the internal form of the        roof.

In FIG. 2, the general view of the roof insulation material (1) subjectof the invention, in a manner that it is cut according to the internalform of the roof, is provided.

The bottom layer (5) and the top layer (10) composing the roofinsulation material (1) subject of the invention, are made of nonwovenwoven felt. Top surface (7) of the woven felt forming the bottom layer(5), may be coated with foil or thermoplastic polyurethane (6).Therefore, leakage of the polyurethane foam (15) which is injected ontothe bottom layer (5), may be prevented. The polyurethane foam (15) mayinsulate the sounds from out of the vehicle, due to its cavernous cellstructure. In addition, it has a moldable feature. It may be formedaccording to other materials that it works together.

The polyurethane foam (15) is poured by a robot on the foil orthermoplastic polyurethane (6) coated top surface (7) of the bottomlayer (5) which is made of woven felt, in accordance with the coursethat is designed depending on the desired roof insulation material (1)form. In order to have the polyurethane foam (15) to spread to thedesired areas on the bottom layer (5), form mold (30) is closed upon thebottom layer (5) with a clamp. There are protrusions (35) on the formmold (30), in order to have no polyurethane foam (15) or a very thinlayer of polyurethane foam (15) on the side (40) sections of the roofinsulation material (1) and the sections which correspond to theprofiles forming the roof metal structure and the sections that are incontact with these profiles, when it is located on the vehicle roof andthe roof structure is opened or closed. The polyurethane foam (15) isprevented from entering to the sections where these protrusions (35)contact to the bottom layer (5). Because of the protrusions (35) on theform mold (30), the polyurethane foam (15) is prevented from entering tothe desired sections. Therefore, the sections (50) which do not comprisepolyurethane foam (15), are obtained in the roof insulation material(1). The PU foam may be produced in highly complex structures, via formmold (30). After the form mold (30) is removed from top of the bottomlayer (5), top layer (10) is located on the bottom layer (5). The bottomlayer (5) and the top layer (10) are welded together by heating via thethermo welding machine. Afterwards, cutting is performed with a cuttingframe according to the desired form and the final product roofinsulation material (1) is obtained. In the FIG. 3, the general view ofthe form mold (30) which is used in producing the roof insulationmaterial (1) subject of the invention, is provided.

The structure created as a result of polyurethane (PU) foam (15)injection, especially increases the performance of the sound insulation.In addition, it also contributes to the heat insulation. Since thepolyurethane foam (15) injection is done in a mold, detailed forms maybe created. Therefore, the empty spaces in the fabric convertible roofsystem may be completely filled and any visual inconveniences that mayhappen in the external appearance may be prevented. Because in theobtained roof insulation material (1) the sections that correspond tothe backbone sections of said roof system, may be left empty with theprotrusions (35) of the male sections in the form mold (30) or that theymay be with very thin thickness, the roof system may be easily operatedand the external appearance of the roof may not be affected negatively.In the roof insulation material (1), due to the sections withoutpolyurethane foam (50), the system may be folded more easily andcomfortably when the roof is opened and closed.

With the invention a roof insulation material (1) which may be easilyformed in the desired manner with PU injection method and PU mold, isnot composite (PU non-inclusive of glass or fibers etc.), to be used inconvertible vehicles with soft top (fabric base, flexible) structure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A roof insulation material which is used inconvertible vehicles with soft top (fabric base, flexible) structure,wherein; said roof insulation material comprises: a bottom layer whichis made of woven felt, whose top surface is coated with foil orthermoplastic polyurethane; a top layer which is made of woven felt,which is located on the bottom layer and is connected to the bottomlayer; a polyurethane foam which is located between the bottom layer andthe top layer except the side parts and the sections which correspond tothe profiles forming the roof metal structure and the sections that arein contact with these profiles, when located on the vehicle roof and theroof structure is closed.
 2. The production method of the roofinsulation material according to claim 1, wherein; it comprises thefollowing process steps: injecting polyurethane foam to the top surfacewhich is foil or thermoplastic polyurethane coated, of the bottom layerwhich is made of woven felt; locating the form mold on the bottom layerin order to enable the polyurethane foam to be transmitted to desiredsections on the bottom layer; after the form mold is removed, locatingthe top layer on the bottom layer where polyurethane foam is injected,and connecting the bottom layer and the top layer via heat; andperforming cutting in accordance with the internal form of the roof. 3.The method according to claim 2, wherein; said form mold comprisesprotrusions which prevent the polyurethane foam location on areascorrespond to the profiles forming the roof metal structure and whichcontact to these profiles, when located on the side sections of the roofinsulation material, and when the roof insulation material is located onthe vehicle roof, when the roof structure is opened or closed.